Everything about Cienfuegos totally explained
Cienfuegos is a
city on the southern
coast of
Cuba,
capital of the
province of
Cienfuegos. It is located about 250 km (155 miles) from
Havana, and has a
population of 150,000. The city is dubbed
"La Perla del Sur"(Pearl of the South). Cienfuegos literally translates to "Hundred fires".
Geography
Near the entrance to the
Bahia de Cienfuegos (
bahia meaning "
bay") is
Castillo de Jagua (full name
Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Jagua), a
fortress erected in the
1745 for protection against
Caribbean pirates.
Cienfuegos, one of the chief seaports of Cuba, is a center of the
sugar trade, as well as
coffee and
tobacco. While
sugarcane is the chief
crop, local
farmers grow coffee.
The downtown contains 6 buildings from 1819-50, 327 buildings from 1851-1900, and 1188 buildings from the 20th century. There is no other place in the Caribbean which contains such a remarkable cluster of
Neoclassical structures.
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of Cienfuegos had a population of 163,824. With a total area of, it has a population density of .
History
The area was called
Cacicazgo de Jagua when the Spanish arrived here, and was settled by indigenous people.
The city was settled by
French immigrants from
Bordeaux and
Louisiana, led by Don Louis D'Clouet, on April 22 1819. Its original name was
Fernardina de Jagua, in honor of
Ferdinand VII of Spain. The settlement became a town (Spanish:
Villa) in 1829, and a city in 1880. The city was subsequently named
Cienfuegos, sharing the name with Cienfuegos, a capitán general (Spanish governor) in this time, in the island.
During the
Cuban Revolution the city saw an uprising against
Fulgencio Batista and was bombed, on
september 5 1957.
World Heritage Site
In
2005,
UNESCO inscribed the
Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos on the
World Heritage List, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of the 19th-century early
Spanish Enlightenment implementation in
urban planning.
Hurricane Dennis 2005
In
2005,
Hurricane Dennis made its second
landfall near Cienfuegos at about 1:00
PM AST (17:00
UTC) with
winds of 232
km/h (144
MPH), and
gusts reaching 285 km/h (177 MPH).
Attractions
- Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Jagua - fortress
- Arco de Triunfo - the only Arco de Triunfo in Cuba
- Cathedral de la Purisma Conception - cathedral with stained glass work, built 1833-1869.
- Delfinario - dolphins and sea lions in a slatwater lagoon
- Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos - 97 hectares of botanic garden
- Museo Provincial - furniture and porcelain museum
- Palacio de Valle - built 1913-1917 in neo-gothic style
- Palmira Yorubá Pantheon - museum of religious afro-catholoc syncretism
- Parque José Martí - park in Plaza de Armas
- University of Cienfuegos "Carlos Rafael Rodríguez" (UCF) - the province's secondary education institution.
Famous residents
Benny Moré, Cuban singer.
Gallery
Image:CienfuegosMarti.JPG|Statue of José Martí
Image:CienfuegosCatedral.JPG|Cathedral of Cienfuegos
Image:CienfuegosBoulevard.JPG|Pedestrian Boulevard
Image:CienfuegosPrado.JPG|Prado
Image:CienfuegosValle.JPG|Palacio de Valle (Valle's Palace) in Punta Gorda
Image:DirkvdM cienfuegos state hotel.jpg|Palacio Azul (Blue Palace)
Image:Cienfuegos facade.jpg|Closeup of porthouse
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cienfuegos'.
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